Other Side
by Laugh After Pain
Summary: Though he succeeded in making his brother happy, Kaoru forgot about himself. TamaKao, HikaHaru


It was raining that day.

It wasn't a heavy rain, but more than just a drizzle, and the dark clouds on the horizon only promised further precipitation. The weatherman had predicted a possible thundering as heavy rains came in mid-to-late-afternoon. At that time, Haruhi Fujioka, first year at Ouran High School, ever fearful of the sound of thunder, would undoubtedly be curled up in the safe embrace of her boyfriend, hidden from the view of the world, alone, just the two of them.

He was still new at this whole "boyfriend" thing...in fact, this whole "being for others" thing was beyond his comfort zone as well, but it was Haruhi, so he'd suck it up and let his heart lead him without thinking about how stupid he would have looked to an outsider. He'd hold her tightly in his arms, as if to never let her go, and whisper small, awkward comforts to her. He'd be unsteady and unsure, but as soon as a crash of thunder sounded, and she whimpered in fear, his uncertainty would disappear, his eyes would harden, and he'd suddenly know exactly what to say and how to say it to soothe her fears and make her forget her fright. He'd get it just right, and she'd thank him, softly, so softly, for holding her and loving her in such an uncharacteristically gentle way. She knew he was scared of saying the wrong thing again. Just as his embrace assuaged her fears, the sound of her voice speaking his name did likewise for him.

"Thank you...Hikaru."

The thunder wouldn't come until the rain became heavier, and that was some time from the present - a few hours, maybe. Still, Haruhi's classmate and Hikaru's twin brother, Kaoru, knew that Hikaru would follow Haruhi all day long, prepared to carry out his protective duties as the boyfriend, as soon as the first crack of thunder sounded. Hikaru was paranoid about not being there for her, or, Kaoru smiled devilishly, of being beaten to it by their upperclassman friend, Tamaki Suoh, whose own feelings for Haruhi were beyond evident.

Still, Kaoru had to give Tamaki credit; the moment the Host Club "King" had seen the absolute glow all about her, he had smiled graciously and congratulated the freshman couple. How painful it must have been to have harbored such feelings for someone and to see her with someone else - especially a close friend. Kaoru had always thought well of Tamaki, but that simple action had caused his opinion of the second year to skyrocket.

Kaoru had seen how Haruhi had come to change his brother, to open Hikaru up to a kinder self. He had been so pleased to see his twin, once so selfish and childish, cherish another so unwaveringly, and, in his elation, he pushed for Hikaru to move before another stole Haruhi away. It had taken blood, sweat, and tears on Kaoru's part, but to see his twin in such a loving relationship was well worth it.

Still...Kaoru suddenly felt as if he were coming off of a high of some sort. Now that Hikaru and Haruhi had been together for a month or so - and doing a disarmingly good job at keeping this fact under wraps - Kaoru began to feel...incomplete, maybe? He loved Haruhi, naturally, and thought of her as his own sister; he couldn't think ill of her. Even so, Kaoru was ashamed to admit that a stinging pang of jealously struck his heart when his twin waved goodbye to him and ran off to meet her instead. For so many years, it had been the twins and everyone else, but now they had grown out of that foolish, proud phase. For that, Kaoru was grateful, but he realized too late that, having spent all of his energy pushing Hikaru to happiness, he had forgotten himself. Having not found another to love while Hikaru was away, Kaoru was alone, one half of an incomplete puzzle, the other half having found a corresponding part elsewhere. Though he was still as much a part of his twin's life as ever, Kaoru wanted to give Hikaru space and to give him time with Haruhi. It would be selfish to ask anything else of him.

The rain began to fall harder, the clouds growing thicker and darker overhead, and Kaoru sighed. The dreary, gray day, with the rain and cold wind, had seemed like such a stereotypically appropriate backdrop for his mood, but suddenly sitting in the garden, wet and chilled, seemed like a stupid thing to do. Flipping his bangs back out of his eyes, Kaoru looked up to the windows of the third music room where the Host Club resided, and smiled faintly to see his twin and Haruhi at the window, she looking anxiously at the clouds, he looking devotedly at her. Jealousy receded as Kaoru studied his brother's face; it was...it was...

It was so cute. Kaoru smiled, leaning back and admiring his handiwork. Sitting under the trees prevented him from being visible if Haruhi or Hikaru happened to look down, but he could watch them easily through the branches. Though there might be a stab of envy as he sat outside in the rain watching the couple, love pushed it down. Kaoru knew that if lightning struck, he'd have to ditch the trees, but he did hope to catch a glimpse of the two together when thunder began to sound.

"You're going to give yourself pneumonia out here, you know," a familiar voice chided gently. Kaoru looked over, surprised, to see Tamaki standing beside him, though without an umbrella or even a raincoat.

"Milord, you're not doing yourself any favors, either," Kaoru replied automatically, and Tamaki smiled.

"Kaoru, come inside," the blond said, and Kaoru stared at him for a moment. Then, almost subconsciously, Kaoru lifted his hand to touch his hair, feeling, as he'd suspected, that it was a mess, and his left part was completely ruined.

"Did you see Hikaru inside?"

"No. I just came from lunch."

"Did you see Haruhi?"

"No. Lunch." There was a chuckle behind those words, Kaoru knew, but he pressed on.

"...How did you know it was me?"

Though Haruhi's uncanny ability to distinguish between the twins regardless of the tactics they pulled had certainly thrown the two for a loop, Hikaru and Kaoru had continued to boggle others with how identical they were, and no one else had ever been able to tell them apart. Tamaki shoved his hands in his pockets awkwardly, but continued to look down at Kaoru with a surprising degree of kindness in response to the slightly rude question.

"We-ell..." Tamaki grinned idiotically, suddenly, and Kaoru half expected the upperclassman to tell him it had been a wild guess, or something stupidly obvious, like that Kaoru's name was on his hoodie somewhere. Kaoru checked his sleeves. "Remember how Haruhi said that Hikaru's actions are a bit meaner than yours?" Kaoru returned Tamaki's gaze, a wry smile playing at his lips.

"Yes?"

"I started observing you two to see if she was correct." Tamaki nodded to himself as if he were a genius for doing so. "It's true, Kaoru. You're much gentler that your twin, in both words and actions. Besides…" Tamaki began, squatting down so that he was face to face with Kaoru, sitting on the wet grass. Thunder rumbled in the distance, and a shadow crossed both Tamaki's and Kaoru's faces.

"Hikaru's with her." Kaoru hadn't meant to change the subject, intrigued by what Tamaki had been about to say. Tamaki continued talking before he could press the matter, however.

"Did it bother you when they started going out?"

"No," Kaoru admitted, unsurprised that Tamaki would ask something like this of him. "Well, not really. I wanted Hikaru to pursue his feelings, so I was happy that it all worked out. I still am. Though sometimes, I'll admit...I get lonely." Kaoru felt awkward admitting this and averted his eyes from Tamaki's steady gaze. The blond mulled this over.

"That sounds right," he agreed. "But I think you were very brave. You two only had each other, and you really did what was right by Hikaru by pushing him. Really!" He held up his hands protectively to defend himself from the other's dubious glare. "But, Kaoru, you're still lonely."

"I'm just getting used to it, that's all," Kaoru shrugged. Tamaki sighed.

"Yeah...I am, too, I guess." Giving in, Tamaki fell back onto his behind, flopping into the wet grass beside Kaoru. "It okay if we're lonely together?"

"If we're together, we won't be lonely," Kaoru pointed out the flaw in Tamaki's suggestion, only realizing after this the point the second year was trying to make. The blond seemed to be pretending to think about this.

"That's true. We won't be," he agreed, suddenly leaning a bit closer to Kaoru. "So...how about being not lonely together?"

Again, thunder rumbled ominously above them, suddenly seeming to have snuck up on them while they were talking. Thinking for a fleeting moment of Haruhi and Hikaru, likely huddled up together in the third music room, the latter comforting the former with all the airs of a true boyfriend, Kaoru felt a small squeak of fear escape his lips. Tamaki smiled, and Kaoru looked down shyly.

"Okay."


End file.
